Hawks Win!

Studio Tour

I cleaned my studio (formerly my "craft room" until Tom started calling it my "crap room") today, and I decided to take some pics for my other blog, but I thought I'd post more here.  The first pic was taken from the far wall looking toward the door (obviously).  I have a counter along one wall to stand at, which has four rolling carts underneath that hold all my punches, embossing tools, Bind-It All stuff, circle cutters and decorative scissors, and card bases and envelopes.   The two long tables are from Menards, which were purchased so I could hold workshops, but I always spread out all my projects over them too.  There are four pink chairs (from Staples) and then four more nice folding chairs, so I can sit eight people comfortably.

This picture was taken from the opposite angle.  The big hole in the wall looks out over our front room.  The closet on the right is a huge walk-in and holds all my business stuff, extra supplies, the folding chairs, has hangers for coats, and is a huge catch-all mess.

A close up of the cube shelves, which are from Target, along with the bins.  I keep all my design books here, and hide old Idea Books and other unsightly stuff in the bins.  The "Life is Good" is from Stampin' Up.

The same side of the room taken from the other side.  I keep a couple mats, my light box, my Scor-Pal, and my big paper cutter out on the tables when I'm not hosting a workshop.

A close up of my bookshelf.  I keep ribbon in a tangled mess in the large pink bin.  The second shelf has all my Cuttlebug supplies and a few albums on it.  The next shelf is magazines and some cards I've made.  The fourth shelf is misc. notebooks and containers of antique postcards.  The bottom shelf has my Xyron (when is the last time I used that?!) and a cute box with contents unknown to me at the moment.

My stamping corner.  We got the large bulletin board at Menards, and I pin up binder clips to hold my artwork.  It's usually full, but I just took down all the Christmas cards.  My stamps are in the bookcase, and all my ink and lots of embellishments are in the wall unit.  My Ott light is there, but it usually moves around to wherever I am.  The pink bins on the counter are my "must haves"--my adhesives, sponges, favorite scissors, and other tools I keep out so they're handy.

At the left end of my counter is a plastic set of drawers that contains more embellishments, rub-ons, etc.  Tucked in beside it is my marker tower.  All my paper is to the left.  The cardstock is all in the Cropper Hopper storage, but the B&T paper is pretty unorganized.

And lastly, here's a look at how my studio looked before I tidied up.  Horrible!  I hadn't completely cleaned up from my last workshop, had made several projects before and after Christmas, had been designing some  workshop projects, and then I went to a crop New Year's Day and dumped the stuff in the room when I got home.

Thanks for taking my studio tour!

Springtime Card

This rainy day card was made mostly from the new CTMH stamp set Springtime.  It's based on Beth Atma's "Rain Boots" card from the Dec/Jan issue of  The Stampers' Sampler, although she used a different stamp set.  The colors are Holiday Red, Twilight, Sweet Leaf, and Sunflower.  I used a lot of Liquid Glass to make everything look shiny and wet.  The puddles are from the Makin' Waves stamp set.  The B&T papers are from the Emporium paper collection.

Bunny Love and Treasure Life Card

I made this card for a CTMH consultant artwork challenge to use the colors Cocoa, Topiary, Watermelon, Indian Corn Blue, and Buttercup.  It makes me think of spring while suffering Iowa's subzero temperatures.  The stamp sets are Bunny Love and Treasure Life.  There's a small pearl for the flower center on the bunny's hat, and the white mat was embossed with my Cuttlebug.  The circle image and mat are raised, and all the edges are distressed. 

Veranda and Just Because Birthday Card

For this birthday card I used CTMH's new Veranda papers and the Just Because and Fringed Phrases stamp sets.  The fleur de lis edge punch is fron EK Success.  They are hard to see in the photo, but there are pink "gems" on the clasp of the lady's purse and on her hat.

Childhood Portrait and Tickled Pink Birthday Card

Again, I used the Tickled Pink papers, but this time with the little ballerina fromn the Childhood Portrait stamp set and "Happy Birthday" from the Fringed Phrases set.

Tickled Pink with Be Yourself Birthday Card

The papers are from the Tickled Pink set, and the stamp is Be Yourself.  It's hard to see, but there's a pink "gem" on the girl's finger.

Emporium Vacation Book

I made this mini scrapbook/journal for our upcoming vacation to the Alabama/Mississippi Gulf Coast and New Orleans.  The book itself is new in the CTMH 2010 Spring Idea Book and called the My Creations Journal.  It has a clear plastic cover protector, so you can create a 5x7 cover page, slip it into the protector pocket, and it won't become damaged or dirty.  I used the Emporium paper collection along with Sweet Leaf and Twilight cardstock and several stamp sets.  The metal flowers are CTMH's new Filigree Charms, which look great with the Emporium papers.  The fleur de lis edge punch is from EK Success. 

Inside I randomly stamped at least one side of every page using several different stamp sets:

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and Wishes for a Great 2010! 

Spring 2010 Close to My Heart Spring Idea Book.  The new catalog is available today.  Contact me for your free copy or browse it online at mollyrawls.myctmh.com.  Here's a peek at one of the just-released paper collections in the new catalog, titled "You Rock":

January is National Papercrafting Month.  Okay, it's also National Blood Donor Month, Braille Literacy Month, Hot Tea Month, Bath Safety Month, California Dried Plum Digestive Month, Get Organized Month, Poverty in America Awareness Month, Mail Order Gardening Month, Oatmeal Month, etc. But to celebrate Papercrafting Month, CTMH is offering this great "Felicity" collection:

The collection includes 12 12"x12" B&T papers (2 each of 6 designs), 6 die-cut frames (three circular and three label shaped), and a D-size stamp set (including a full alphabet, flourish, birds, and argyle pattern).  To get the collection, you can (1) buy it for $34.95; (2) get it free for ordering $60 or more in stamp sets; or (3) get it free for placing any order totalling $125 or more.  Also, you could win the Felicity collection by commenting on this CTMH blog:  http://www.nationalpapercraftingmonth.blogspot.com/.

Happy Crafting!  I hope one of your resolutions is the same as mine--to create and complete more scrapbook layouts and handmade cards.

Enjoy Every Moment Birthday Card

This cute daisy stamp is part of a new CTMH set called Enjoy Every Moment.  The cardstock colors are Chocolate, Buttercup, and New England Ivy. 

Childhood Portrait Valentine

This is a prototype for a project for a local PEO group.  The colors are black and blush, and the stamp is from the Childhood Portrait set.  The B&T papers are Silhouette and Unforgettable.
The second pictures is an example for them of an alternate card they can make with the same supplies.

New Camera Pics

A couple pics with my new camera:  (more on my 365-day blog)

Tom cleaning the driveway.  I swear it snows every day!

 Jess and Nick playing BandHero.

Daydream Easel Card

Another easel card...this one with CTMH Daydream papers and the stamp sets It's Your Day and Everyday Celebration (sentiment). 

Lonliest Lion Ever

This lonely lion card started off as a door, then was going to be a window, then a birdcage, and finally became a sad, neglected lion in a too-small cage.  I probably shouldn't give it to an animal lover.  The stamps are CTMH's Around the Block and Life's a Jungle.  Colors are black and cranberry.

Key to My Heart cards

I'm trying to use up some existing papers instead of buying more (Like that will work--I'm not even fooling myself.)  These cards were all made with CTMH Key to My Heart papers and the stamp sets Delightful Things (watermark), Childhood Portrait ("Thinking of You"), Treasure Life (flowers), Fringed Phrases ("You're Special"), and It's Your Day (gift & sentiment).  The colors are mostly CTMH juniper and sorbet.